Thursday night, the 2014 NBA All-Star starting lineups were announced on TNT. In the Western Conference, there were a couple of questionable calls. Here are the starters:

G: Kobe Bryant

G: Stephen Curry

F: Kevin Durant

F: Blake Griffin

F: Kevin Love

I believe the fans got it right with Curry, Durant, Griffin and Love for the most part. They are deserving. But, Bryant being voted in was a head-scratcher — at least, common sense would tell you that. Fans love Kobe, that’s for certain. But, of course he hasn’t played much this year and won’t be available to play. However, that debate is for later.

The win overall in the West, here, is the fact that Houston Rockets center Dwight Howard was not voted into the starting lineup. He did not deserve it, nor did he get it — I, for one, am happy. It was obvious that Love’s stats were much, much better than Howard’s which should take away any questions about Howard’s absence from the starting five.

This just proves that the fans are getting a little bit smarter, despite voting Bryant a starter. Howard’s defensive tenacity has taken a bit of a dive over the last several years and he’s no where near the guy he was with the Orlando Magic. Not to mention, his mouth just couldn’t stay shut prior to his “new beginning” in Houston. All of his whining and antics took a toll on fans, thus he is left out of this year’s starters in the All-Star Game.

Howard will definitely be on the team, there’s no doubt he deserves it and he still has plenty of fans out there. But, leaving him out of the starting lineup proves that the fans realize he is not the guy he was — both on the court and off.